Does Cornerstone Building Brands (NYSE:CNR) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the permanent loss of capital.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. We note that Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CNR) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt A Problem?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

See our latest analysis for Cornerstone Building Brands

What Is Cornerstone Building Brands's Debt?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Cornerstone Building Brands had US$3.65b in debt in April 2021; about the same as the year before. However, it does have US$666.7m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$2.98b.

A Look At Cornerstone Building Brands' Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Cornerstone Building Brands had liabilities of US$729.0m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$4.34b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$666.7m as well as receivables valued at US$632.9m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$3.77b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This deficit casts a shadow over the US$2.39b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. After all, Cornerstone Building Brands would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

While we wouldn't worry about Cornerstone Building Brands's net debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.8, we think its super-low interest cover of 1.5 times is a sign of high leverage. So shareholders should probably be aware that interest expenses appear to have really impacted the business lately. On a slightly more positive note, Cornerstone Building Brands grew its EBIT at 11% over the last year, further increasing its ability to manage debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Cornerstone Building Brands's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the most recent two years, Cornerstone Building Brands recorded free cash flow worth 65% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

Our View

To be frank both Cornerstone Building Brands's interest cover and its track record of staying on top of its total liabilities make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But at least it's pretty decent at converting EBIT to free cash flow; that's encouraging. Overall, we think it's fair to say that Cornerstone Building Brands has enough debt that there are some real risks around the balance sheet. If everything goes well that may pay off but the downside of this debt is a greater risk of permanent losses. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Cornerstone Building Brands (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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